Following the American Revolution, European map makers were quick to publish maps recognizing the independence of the new country known as the United States. One example is this map, which was prepared by the German cartographer Franz Ludwig Güssefeld for inclusion in atlases published by the German firm Homann Heirs.

The map clearly focuses on showing the extent of the new nation from the Atlantic Coast west to the Mississippi River, and north to the Great Lakes, but excluding the Spanish territories of Florida and Louisiana. However, the boundaries of the individual states were crudely drawn, with obvious mistakes made in delineating New Hampshire, Maryland, and Virginia.

It is likely that the map was drawn to encourage German migration to the Americas since there is a list off the coast of the Middle Atlantic states which indicates towns in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania with significant German populations.